One of the most improbable-looking of all Test cricketers, Gladstone Small had his moment of glory to help England retain the Ashes in 1986-87. Small, a last-minute replacement, stunned a Boxing Day crowd of 58,000 at the MCG by splitting Australia's first innings wickets with Ian Botham. Small took 5 for 48 and Australia were rolled over for 141. When England won, Small was named Man of the Match, as much for his enthusiasm as anything: he was always a whole-hearted tryer, a committed team man and a delightful guy. Australia's discomfiture was increased by Small's strange build: seemingly without a neck, he walked around as though he still had a coathanger inside his jacket. He came to England from Barbados just after his 14th birthday, the cut-off date for automatic qualification. However, the combination of his looks and his then-pair of nerdish specs made the Lord's registration committee think he had no chance of ever playing Test cricket anyway, so they let him through. In good times, Small might not have played for England; he was neither especially fast nor reliable, and early in his career was an infuriatingly regular no-baller. But he cut his run right down and settled for being predominately an outswing bowler, still hostile enough to worry even the best batsmen, as Australia found again a week after the MCG, when he whipped through the middle order in Sydney. Like most players of that era, he then drifted in and out of the England side but took eight wickets in the defeat at Bridgetown in 1989-90 and was still a key figure for Warwickshire in their all-conquering year of 1994.
Matthew Engel